The Lady Upstairs Dorothy Schiff and the New York Post

by Nissenson, Marilyn

• ISBN13: 9780312313111
• ISBN10: 031231311X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-25
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

The Lady Upstairs is the dramatic story of Dorothy Schiff'”liberal activist, society stalwart, and the most dynamic female newspaper publisher of her day. From 1939 until 1976 she owned and guided the New York Post , the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the United States. Dolly, as she was called, made the Post one of the most dedicated supporters of New Deal liberalism in the country, while simultaneously maintaining its distinct personality as a chatty, parochial, New York tabloid. Unfazed by political or personal controversy, Schiff backed editorial writers like James Wechsler and Max Lerner and reporters like Murray Kempton and Pete Hamill. Under her guidance the Post broke the story of Richard Nixon's slush fund. It helped bring down such icons of the day as Joseph McCarthy, Walter Winchell, and Robert Moses. It supported the civil rights movement and opposed the Vietnam War. Although Dolly seldom appeared in the newsroom, she approved and commented on every major story and every minor column in the paper, until eventually selling it to Rupert Murdoch. Dolly's private life could have been a staple of the Post 's society gossip columns. Endlessly flirtatious, she married four times and had extramarital romances with, among others, Franklin Roosevelt and Max Beaverbrook. She was a friend of national politicians such as Adlai Stevenson, the Kennedys, Lyndon Johnson, and Nelson Rockefeller. Born into a staunchly Republican German-Jewish banking family, she used her inheritance to further causes of the political left. She used her charm and her social connections in the service of her paper, which was the center of her life. The Lady Upstairs is the portrait of a unique life and a crucial era in American history. Marilyn Nissenson , a veteran journalist, moved to New York after college. She remembers reading The New York Times for news coverage and Dolly Schiff's Post for everything else. The Lady Upstairs is the dramatic story of Dorothy Schiff'”liberal activist, society stalwart, and the most dynamic female newspaper publisher of her day. From 1939 until 1976 she owned and guided the New York Post , the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the United States. Dolly, as she was called, made the Post one of the most dedicated supporters of New Deal liberalism in the country, while simultaneously maintaining its distinct personality as a chatty, parochial, New York tabloid. Unfazed by political or personal controversy, Schiff backed editorial writers like James Wechsler and Max Lerner and reporters like Murray Kempton and Pete Hamill. Under her guidance the Post broke the story of Richard Nixon's slush fund. It helped bring down such icons of the day as Joseph McCarthy, Walter Winchell, and Robert Moses. It supported the civil rights movement and opposed the Vietnam War. Although Dolly seldom appeared in the newsroom, she approved and commented on every major story and every minor column in the paper, until eventually selling it to Rupert Murdoch. Dolly's private life could have been a staple of the Post 's society gossip columns. Endlessly flirtatious, she married four times and had extra-marital romances with, among others, Franklin Roosevelt and Max Beaverbrook. She was a friend of national politicians such as Adlai Stevenson, the Kennedys, Lyndon Johnson, and Nelson Rockefeller. Born into a staunchly Republican German-Jewish banking family, she used her inheritance to further causes of the political left. She used her charm and her social connections in the service of her paper, which was the center of her life. The Lady Upstairs is the portrait of a unique life and a crucial era in American history. "Schiff''s life and complicated character have all the promising elements of a terrific biography. While not exactly ''a gay byproduct of female emancipation, wearing the pants and using the vote,'' as Kenneth Tynan wrote of Katharine Hepburn, Schiff was much too fond of showing off her l

Author Biography

Marilyn Nissenson, a veteran journalist, moved to New York after college. She remembers reading The New York Times for news coverage and Dolly Schiff’s Post for everything else.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
The Apprenticeship
"The Background"	p. 3
Society Girl	p. 22
Acquiring the Post	p. 49
Media Adventures	p. 67
Ted's Tenure	p. 81
Taking Control
Transition Time	p. 105
Finding Her Way	p. 111
The Fabulous Fifties	p. 138
Charges and Countercharges	p. 151
"I Got Married!"	p. 166
The Liberal Agenda
Party Politics	p. 181
Protecting the Little Guy	p. 193
Civil Rights and Wrongs	p. 206
Bringing Down the Titans	p. 216
Ethnic Journalism	p. 227
Sunny Days
Alone Again	p. 241
Changing the Guard	p. 253
"The Only Survivor"	p. 272
Planning for the Future	p. 289
Clouds on the Horizon
The Rise of the New Left	p. 305
Blacks vs. Jews	p. 323
The Candy Store	p. 338
The Young Turks	p. 350
The Worst of Times	p. 369
Resolution
The Man from Oz	p. 389
Thereafter	p. 414
Notes	p. 443
Bibliography	p. 479
Acknowledgments	p. 485
Index	p. 489
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